If you are moving up in northeast Tarrant County, Southlake and Colleyville will both be on your list, and most of what you hear about the difference between them is opinion. So here are the facts: taxes, school districts, home values, lots and commute. I am not going to tell you which one is better, because that depends on the house and on your life. I will tell you where the comparison usually goes wrong.
The biggest mistake is comparing city names. Both cities are split among several school districts, so two homes in the same city can have different schools and different tax bills. Compare addresses.
The 2026 rates are adopted, and the two cities moved in opposite directions this year.
Add the three county-level lines both cities share (Tarrant County 0.186, JPS Health Network 0.159 and Tarrant County College 0.12), and the stacks come out almost even. Southlake in Carroll ISD is 1.681900. Colleyville in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD is 1.686080.
The exemptions change it a little. Southlake's city homestead exemption is 20 percent. Colleyville's is 14 percent, the figure the city adopted in June 2025, and I could not find a change for 2026, so confirm it. On a $1,000,000 homestead, here are just the two lines that differ, using the $140,000 school exemption:
That is about a $210 difference a year at the same value. On a seven-figure purchase, that should not decide anything. It is an illustration, not a quote, and it assumes the same value, Colleyville's 14 percent exemption, no over-65 or disability rules and no appraisal cap.
What I would actually watch is direction. Colleyville's rate has risen every year since 2023 and is the highest since 2015, per Community Impact. The city's own notice says the average homestead pays $2,391.37 this year, up $190.72, even though the average taxable value fell to $678,440. Officials pointed to lower values, insurance, staff retention and debt payments on the recreation center and fire equipment. Southlake's rate came down again, and its stated rate is below its no-new-revenue rate. One year does not make a trend forever, so ask where each city's budget is heading.
One small practical thing: the Tarrant County tax office marks both Colleyville and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD as units it does not service. Before you set up escrow or budget for a bill, ask where each one comes from.
Southlake is mostly Carroll ISD. The city puts it at about 78 percent of its land area, with the rest in Northwest ISD, Keller ISD and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. My Southlake schools guide has the details.
Colleyville's budget lists five districts: Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, Birdville ISD, Carroll ISD, Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD and Keller ISD. I could not find a published share for each one, so do not assume.
Published TEA ratings for 2026, the only comparison I am going to make:
Those are district numbers. Look up the campus, not the district, at txschools.gov, and confirm the attendance zone with the district by street address.
Carroll ISD also has a known change coming. In January 2026 the board voted to close Durham Intermediate, and the realignment takes effect in August 2027. Fifth graders stay on elementary campuses and grades 6 to 8 move to a two-middle-school model. If you are buying for a specific campus, read the district's consolidation page.
The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 estimates put Southlake's median owner-occupied home at $1,014,500, and owner occupancy at 94.6 percent. Data USA's 2024 figures, drawn from Census surveys, put Colleyville's median at $784,900 and owner occupancy at 96.7 percent.
That roughly $230,000 gap is the real difference for most move-up budgets, and it matters more than the taxes. Medians hide a lot. Both cities have homes well above and below those figures, so this tells you where the middle of each market sits, not what you will pay for a particular house. Run your own number with my guides on how much equity you need to move up and what a million dollars buys.
I am not quoting a citywide lot size for either place, because there is not one. Colleyville's own FAQ says it has 16 zoning districts. Lot size follows the zoning and the plat, not the city limit, and it can change from one subdivision to the next.
For any house you like, get the plat, the survey and the deed restrictions. If you want a shop, a pool house or room for a future addition, those documents answer it. My HOA and deed restrictions guide walks through what to read, and this one covers acreage versus a neighborhood.
Average travel time to work is 25.6 minutes in Southlake, per the Census Bureau, and 24.1 minutes in Colleyville, per Data USA. Both cities describe themselves as about five miles from DFW Airport, though Colleyville's budget also calls it a 15-minute trip, and that depends on where you start.
The roads are the real difference. Southlake runs along SH 114. Colleyville lists Texas 26 (Colleyville Boulevard), Texas 121 and FM 3029 (Precinct Line Road). Drive your actual route at your actual hour, once in each direction, before you decide anything.
Done that way, the answer usually comes down to one house being better than the other for you. That is the only comparison that counts.
For 2026 they are nearly even. Southlake in Carroll ISD totals 1.6819 per $100 before exemptions, and Colleyville in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD totals 1.68608. Southlake's city rate is lower and Carroll ISD's school rate is higher. Your actual bill depends on the parcel's school district and your exemptions.
No. Colleyville's budget lists Grapevine-Colleyville, Birdville, Carroll, Hurst-Euless-Bedford and Keller ISDs. Southlake is also split among four districts. Confirm by street address with the district before you write an offer.
At the median, yes. Southlake's median owner-occupied value is $1,014,500 in Census 2020 to 2024 estimates, compared with $784,900 for Colleyville in Data USA's 2024 figures. Both cities have homes well above and below those medians.
Weighing a house in each city? Send me both addresses and I will line up the district, the tax lines and the numbers side by side. You can also see my Southlake page and the move-up guide.
REALTOR® · BHHS PenFed Realty Texas
I help buyers and sellers across the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex — Fort Worth, Burleson, Southlake, Crowley and Keller, and the surrounding Dallas area. I write these because they are the questions I answer on the phone every week, and most people never get a straight answer to them. If you have one I have not covered, ask me — I will probably turn it into the next post.
